Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album was the most
Kiss-like of the four, sounding more like an official band release rather than a solo outing. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing --
Stanley had become a seasoned hard rock songwriter by this point, churning out some of
Kiss' best material ("Love Gun," "Detroit Rock City," "I Want You," etc.), and wisely stuck to his winning formula on
Paul Stanley. With the help of studio musicians, as well as guitarist
Bob Kulick (who was almost an original member of
Kiss, and brother of future
Kiss replacement guitarist
Bruce) and
Rod Stewart/
Vanilla Fudge drummer
Carmine Appice,
Stanley's album is on par with
Ace Frehley's as far as consistency is concerned. A couple of epic compositions (by
Kiss standards) are highlights -- "Tonight You Belong to Me" and "Take Me Away (Together as One)" -- as are the more straightforward tracks "Ain't Quite Right," "Wouldn't You Like to Know Me?," "It's Alright," and "Goodbye." While his other
Kiss bandmates took more chances with their solo records (with varying results),
Stanley's album is more or less what a new
Kiss album released in 1978 would have sounded like. [
Paul Stanley was re-released on LP in 2014.] ~ Greg Prato